Department for Transport

Taxis

Lord Touhig: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the reply by Baroness Kramer on 17 March (HL Deb, col 994), when they will complete their consideration of the Law Commission's review of taxi legislation published in May 2014; and when it will be published.

Baroness Kramer: I do not have an estimated date for completion or publication of the response to the Law Commission work. Responding to the Law Commission will be a matter for the next Government.

Channel Tunnel: Fires

Lord Bradshaw: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Kramer on 16 March (HL5636) whether the likely cause of the fire in the Channel Tunnel in January was an aerial on a lorry coming into contact with the overhead electric power equipment; and whether they consider that the fire could have been avoided if the lorry had been conveyed in a closed wagon.

Baroness Kramer: It would be premature to make any judgements around the causes of the fire until the independent statutory investigations by the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) and its French counterpart, BEA-TT have been completed.

Home Office

Borders: Personal Records

Lord Stoddart of Swindon: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bates on 12 February (HL4630) concerning the proposed European Union Passenger Name Records Directive, whether the directive would transfer further powers to the institutions of the European Union; and, if so, whether they consider that a referendum should be held under the provisions of the European Union Act 2011.

Lord Bates: The European Union Act 2011 does not apply to the exercise of competence already conferred on the EU within the existing EU Treaties, which includes the enactment of EU measures such as directives or regulations within existing areas of European Union competence (the one exception is a decision under Article 352 TFEU, which requires an Act of Parliament). The normal Parliamentary scrutiny arrangements continue to apply to proposals for EU legislation.The proposals in the draft Passenger Name Records Directive (PNR) do not transfer further areas of competence to the European Union. In triggering the JHA opt-in, the PNR Directive was however subject to the enhanced parliamentary scrutiny arrangements, including debates in both Houses in March 2011 prior to the decision that the UK should participate in the measure.

Asylum: Finance

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many people receive support under section 4 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 specifically because it is the Secretary of State’s opinion that no viable route of return is currently available.

Lord Bates: There is currently no country which the Secretary of State has designated as having no viable route of return available.

Asylum: Finance

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many people are in receipt of support under section 4 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 because they have applied for a judicial review of their asylum application and have been given permission to proceed.

Lord Bates: At the end of December 2014, Home Office records indicate there were 212 people who were successful in their application for support under Section 4 because they had applied for a judicial review of their asylum application and were given permission to proceed. Please note that individuals may since have transitioned onto the receipt of section 4 support for a different reason, however this information is not centrally recorded.

Entry Clearances: Married People

Lord Rooker: To ask Her Majesty’s Government why the Home Office presenting officer at the appeal of Mrs Kiran in the Birmingham First-Tier Tribunal hearing before Judge Ford on 5 January, Appeal Number OA/05588/2014, was unable to access a copy of the entry clearance officer's bundle; and why those documents had not been served on the Tribunal or the Appellant.

Lord Bates: The appeal bundle was sent via diplomatic bag by the British High Commission at Islamabad on 16 December 2014; however it was not available to the court in time for the hearing on 5 January 2015. The delay in sending the bundle was due to the need to consider representations from Mrs Kiran, made to the British High Commission, after the initial decision to refuse Mrs Kiran’s application.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Palestinians

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they will take to support access to Gaza by Scotland’s Minister for External Affairs and other United Kingdom Ministers.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: It is a long-standing practice for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and our overseas posts to facilitate overseas visits by Scottish Government Ministers and officials where these align with their devolved responsibilities. However, the safety of British nationals is of paramount importance and the FCO’s travel advice for British nationals is clear; we advise against all travel to Gaza. Decisions on approval for official and ministerial visits to Gaza are taken on a case by case basis in light of the security and political situation at the time.

Cyprus

Lord Maginnis of Drumglass: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of Cypriot President Anastasiades' recent visit to Moscow and his indication that Russian military basing facilities may be made available in Cyprus, what they now consider may be the strategic impact of the Prime Minister’s agreement made during President Anastasiades' visit to the United Kingdom in January 2014 regarding a right of development within the United Kingdom’s Sovereign Base Areas.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: We have been, and remain, in frequent discussions with the Republic of Cyprus about security and defence matters, and have been briefed on the agreements signed in Moscow. It is our understanding that the defence and security aspects of these formalise arrangements already in place. President Anastasiades has also explicitly ruled out the use of Limassol port for military purposes. The visit of President Anastasiades to London in January 2014, and the arrangement on Non Military Development (NMD) reaffirmed the strong bonds of friendship and partnership which exist between Cyprus and the UK across many areas, notably defence, security, EU reform, and foreign policy cooperation. NMD is a further measure of normalisation of administrative planning rules, and shows that the UK and Cyprus are serious about working together on our shared interests.

Venezuela

Baroness Hooper: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Venezuela regarding human rights violations there, including the imprisonment of the opposition leader, the recent detention of the Mayor of Caracas and the shooting of student demonstrators.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: We remain very concerned about the deteriorating situation in Venezuela, particularly the death of a 14 year old protester on 24 February. The Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire), set out this position personally with the Venezuelan Ambassador during a meeting held on 12 March, at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. We are also concerned about recent Venezuelan government action against opposition politicians. The UK strongly supported the EU press statement of 24 February regarding the arrest of opposition leader Antonio Ledezma. It is vital that political freedoms are guaranteed in Venezuela.

Ukraine

Lord Radice: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many United Kingdom nationals are employed in Ukraine as part of the British Embassy.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: There were 17 UK based staff working in our Embassy in Kyiv on 28 February 2015. In addition, there are UK nationals working as local staff in the Embassy.

Ukraine

Lord Radice: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many United Kingdom nationals they have deployed on training and assistance projects in Ukraine.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: Since the beginning of 2014, 36 UK nationals have been deployed to the Organisation for Security and Co-operation (OSCE) Special Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, nine to support the EU in Ukraine and two to represent the UK’s technical assistance programme and humanitarian support in Ukraine. Additionally, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has had a Special Defence Advisor based in the Ukrainian MoD since 2004. The Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), recently announced that the MoD would be providing further non-lethal support to Ukraine and up to 75 personnel would be based in Ukraine to deliver training and advice in logistics, medical, infantry and intelligence capacity building to the Ukraine Armed Forces. Some of these personnel are already based in-country to develop the training and numbers will increase as the elements of the training are delivered. In addition the British Government is funding UK, Ukrainian and international experts to provide expert advice on economic and governance reforms in Ukraine through the £10million technical assistance programme to Ukraine.

Ukraine

Lord Radice: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their estimate of the number of United Kingdom nationals holidaying in Ukraine at any one time.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: We do not regularly seek these figures and the number will vary year-round and according to the security situation. The most recent estimate was compiled for Foreign and Commonwealth Office Travel Advice in 2013 when it was estimated that 82600 British nationals had visited Ukraine that year. In 2014 we provided consular assistance to approximately 90 British nationals in Ukraine.

Ukraine

Lord Radice: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their estimate of the number of United Kingdom nationals working or living in Ukraine.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: We do not assess this. According to the Ukrainian authorities, there were 499 British nationals registered as working or living in Ukraine on 1 April 2014.

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

Students: Finance

Lord Storey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to support universities to provide bursaries for students experiencing difficulty in meeting living expenses.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: As autonomous and independent organisations, Universities are responsible for planning and implementing their bursary and hardship schemes.   Universities wishing to charge above the basic fee (£6,000 for full time students. £4,500 for part time students) must agree an access agreement with the Office for Fair Access. In access agreements, universities set out what more they will do to support students from disadvantaged and under-represented groups. This includes the outreach they will undertake, and the measures to support student retention and success, including bursaries.   From this year, funding that used to be delivered through the Access to Learning Fund (ALF) has been incorporated into the Student Opportunity Fund allocation provided to universities by the Higher Education Funding Council for England. This year £366m was provided to universities and colleges through the allocation. Universities may use the allocation to alleviate hardship for both undergraduate and postgraduate home students.

Further Education: Disability

Baroness Uddin: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the reduction in public spending on adult further education in 2015–16 announced last month on people with autism and with disabilities.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: We remain committed to ensuring the skills system operates effectively to support the needs of the learners who are most disadvantaged.   The Department provides Learning Support funding to Colleges and providers to help them meet the additional needs of learners with learning difficulties and disabilities and meet the costs of reasonable adjustments as set out in the Equality Act 2010. Learning Support can cover a range of needs including, for example, an assessment for dyslexia, funding to pay for specialist equipment or helpers and arranging signers or note takers.   We have maintained the Community Learning budget for 2015-16, at £215.7m, which includes an additional £5m (and £15m 2016-17) for the pilot community learning courses to help adults recover from mild to moderate mental illness, as announced in the Government’s Autumn Statement.   The freedoms and flexibilities offered by the adult skills budget gives colleges the ability to offer provision to respond best to the priorities and needs of learners and employers in the local area. The approach to funding takes into account the impact on individual providers from year to year.

Apprentices

Lord Smith of Clifton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government for the year 2013–14 how many young people aged 18, 19, 20 and 21 started apprenticeships; and for each age cohort how many did so at level 2, level 3, level 4 and above.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: Table 1 shows the number of apprenticeships starts for those aged 18, 19, 20 and 21 for each Level and in total in 2013/14.   Table 1: Apprenticeship Starts by Age and Level, 2013/14 AgeIntermediate Level Apprenticeship (Level 2)Advanced Level Apprenticeship (Level 3)Higher Apprenticeship (Level 4+)Total1834,10020,20070055,1001924,40015,30080040,5002020,00012,60060033,2002116,80010,00040027,200 Notes: 1) The source is the Individualised Learner Record. 2) Volumes are rounded to the nearest 100.

Students: Gender Recognition

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is being done to increase support for transgender students at universities.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: Universities are independent bodies and Government does not intervene in their day to day management.

Department for International Development

Democratic Republic of Congo

Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what decision they have taken in relation to providing funding for the forthcoming local, provincial and general elections in 2015 and 2016 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Baroness Northover: Elections are an integral part of efforts to build a secure and prosperous Democratic Republic of Congo. A new electoral law was promulgated and comprehensive electoral calendar was published on 12 February 2015. We welcome these. This law is an important step towards elections which are credible, inclusive and peaceful, and which respect the will of the Congolese people, the country’s constitution and the African Union Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance. DFID is committed to supporting elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Democratic Republic of Congo

Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much funding, and for which specific programmes, is proposed to be provided for civic education in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the lead-up to the local, provincial and general elections there in 2015 and 2016.

Baroness Northover: DFID is committed to supporting elections and is looking at how to do this most effectively. We recognise that civic education is an important ingredient for successful elections, especially in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Ukraine

Lord Radice: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what direct aid the United Kingdom has provided to Ukraine in each of the last three years.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: The UK Government has committed £10 million of bilateral support for governance and economic reform in Ukraine for financial years 2014/15 to 2015/16. In addition £15 million of humanitarian assistance to Ukraine was announced by the Prime Minister on 23 February 2015.   In 2014/2015 the UK also allocated £9 million through the Conflict Pool to support activities in Ukraine.   In 2013/14 the UK provided £713,000 of support through the Conflict Pool to Ukraine to the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission.   During the financial year 2012/13 the UK Government did not provide Ukraine with bilateral assistance.

Ukraine

Lord Radice: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what were the United Kingdom's contributions to aid provided by the European Union to Ukraine in each of the last three years.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: The UK’s contributions to aid provided by the European Commission to Ukraine totalled £11.7 million in 2011, £17.9 million in 2012 and £17.4 million in 2013. Official European Commission spending figures are yet to be released for 2014.

Palestinians

Lord Turnberg: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Northover on 9 March (HL5115), what assessment they have made of reports that Hamas has diverted building materials to reconstruct tunnels adjacent to the border between Gaza and Israel.

Baroness Northover: DFID is providing £0.5million to the Materials Monitoring Unit (MMU) which oversees and monitors the import, storage, supply and use of construction materials into Gaza under the auspices of the Gaza Reconstruction Mechanism (GRM). This Mechanism is designed to ensure reconstruction material reaches those who need it most.   We continue to engage with the Palestinian Authority, the UN and the Government of Israel to ensure the mechanism continues to work as intended and that any possible infractions are reported.

Military Aid

Lord Burnett: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what payments have been made by the Department for International Development to the Ministry of Defence in each of the last five years in connection with any operation or other humanitarian work conducted by armed forces or other Ministry of Defence personnel, or the provision of equipment or transport for such work; and in each case, what were those operations.

Baroness Northover: Since 2009 the Department for International Development has reimbursed the Ministry of Defence the following amounts for services and supplies provided by the British Armed Forces in support of humanitarian and disaster-relief operations:   Year of activityEmergency Amount reimbursed by DFID to MOD2009Padang Earthquake£185,0002010Haiti Earthquake£620,0002010Pakistan Floods£615,0002013Philippines£8,950,0002014Iraq£1,967,0002014-ongoingEbola response in Sierra Leone£28,000,000

Sudan

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many Sudanese people they assess to have been displaced or to have fled from Blue Nile or South Kordofan to Ethiopia or South Sudan.

Baroness Northover: The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) has a record, as of 28 February 2015, of 233,000 refugees from Sudan in South Sudan.   There are a further 36,000 refugees from Sudan in Ethiopia.

Department for Education

Secure Accommodation

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure that there are sufficient secure places in children's homes.

Lord Nash: Secure Children’s Homes provide specialist care in a secure environment for some of the most vulnerable children and young people in England in order to protect them, and those around them, from harm. To support secure homes in maintaining and up-grading their facilities as well as ensuring that they can continue to provide high quality care, the Department for Education has made available £45.2m in capital grant funding over the current spending review period. £5.06m will be available in 2015-16. In order to encourage improvements in the supply of places, the Department has also worked closely with the Youth Justice Board to ensure that there is a clear and efficient process for releasing places normally reserved for youth justice placements when a secure placement is needed for a local authority child. The Department recognises, however, that the pressure on places in secure homes has grown over the last 18 months. In October 2014, the Department commissioned a more detailed examination of the issue. The review sought to provide evidence and offer the Department advice on the current and likely future need for places. It also identified changes or improvements that might be required to ensure that the needs of these young people are met. Based on the advice provided, the Department concluded that the commissioning and supply of welfare placements in secure children’s homes would benefit from improved co-ordination at national level. This view is very much shared by local authorities. The Department will now undertake further development work on the issue with the Association of Directors of Children’s Services and the Local Government Association. The work will explore how greater co-ordination at national level might work in practice, including whether it could, and should, involve a more centralised national commissioning process. A copy of the Ministerial letter announcing the next stage in the work is available through the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/letter-from-edward-timpson-about-secure-childrens-homes.

Academies: Standards

Baroness Morris of Yardley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many stand-alone academies have been placed by Ofsted into the requiring improvement or special measures categories.

Lord Nash: 279 stand-alone academies have been judged to require improvement (including those judged to be satisfactory – the equivalent grade - under the pre-2012 inspection framework) or in special measures at their most recent Ofsted inspection. This is 14% of the stand-alone academies inspected. 1705 stand-alone academies (86%) have been judged by Ofsted to be outstanding or good. By way of comparison, 3178 maintained schools were graded as requiring improvement (including those graded as satisfactory under the pre-2012 inspection framework) or special measures (19% of the maintained schools inspected) and 13,565 (81%) were judged to be outstanding or good.   The strong accountability regime for academies allows the Department to tackle underperformance swiftly. In 2014 the Department introduced eight Regional Schools Commissioners (RSCs) to strengthen the oversight of academies and free schools. These RSCs, acting on behalf of the Secretary of State, can intervene by: bringing in additional expertise; challenging the academy trust to make changes to its leadership team; and issuing pre-warning notices and warning notices to drive improvement.

Teachers: Training

Baroness Donaghy: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when advice will be issued to schools and initial teacher training (ITT) providers about (1) new child safety requirements relating to childcare settings, and (2) the extent to which ITT providers are allowed to share information relating to Disclosure and Barring Service checks with partner schools.

Lord Nash: The ‘Disqualification under the Childcare Act 2006’ statutory guidance was issued in February 2015. All initial teacher training (ITT) providers should have regard to this guidance when placing students in relevant childcare settings. The Department for Education is currently reviewing the statutory guidance ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’. This will include an update regarding the information that providers can share with schools in relation to non-salaried trainees.

Gifted Children

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the call by the Sutton Trust for a national support programme for able pupils to replace the "gifted and talented" programme which ended in 2011.

Lord Nash: The Department for Education has not made any assessment on the findings in the Sutton Trust report on gifted and talented pupils. In my response to this issue raised in question HL3435 last December, I stated that the department has no plans to replace the gifted and talented programme. The government’s plan for education will mean that any child, regardless of ability, can reach their full potential and schools have a responsibility to make sure that highly able pupils are stretched. From 2016, our new headline secondary accountability measure, Progress 8, will ensure schools are held to account for the progress made by all pupils, including the most able. In addition, from 2017, the introduction of the new top ‘grade 9’ for GCSE set at a level above the current grade A*, will ensure that the achievements of the very highest performers are recognised.

Ministry of Justice

Cycling: Greater London

Lord Rogan: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many cyclists were (1) cautioned, and (2) convicted, for road traffic offences in each of the years 2010 to 2013 in the Cities of London and Westminster.

Lord Faulks: Like all road users, cyclists have a duty to behave in a safe and responsible manner, and when they fail to comply with any aspect of road traffic law they should be dealt with appropriately. The number of offenders cautioned and defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts of offences related to pedal cycles, in the Metropolitan Police and City of London Police Force Areas, from 2009 to 2013 can be viewed in the following table. Offenders cautioned and defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts of offences related to pedal cycles(1), Metropolitan Police and City of London Police Force Areas, 2009 to 2013 (2)(3)(4)(5)  Police force areaOutcome2010201120122013  Metropolitan PoliceCautioned21141313Proceeded against299517370410Found guilty239414303319  City of London (6)Cautioned31--Proceeded against2949--Found guilty2038--  '-' = Nil   (1) Includes the following offences:  Highways Act 1835 S78 - Riding to common dangerRoad Traffic Act 1988 S26 - Being towedRoad Traffic Act 1988 SS35 & 36 - Neglect of traffic directions   Road Traffic Act 1988 S24 More than one person carried   Highways Act 1835 S72 - Riding on footpathPedal Cycles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1983 - No brakes - failure to comply with the regulations   Road Traffic Act 1988 S28 - Reckless and dangerous driving by pedal cyclist  Road Traffic Act 1988 S29 - Careless driving by pedal cyclist   Road Traffic Act 1988 S30 - Pedal cyclist driving under the influence of drink and drugs Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 S17(4) - Using special road in contravention of regulations made by the Secretary of State Highways Act 1980 S137(1) - Wilful obstruction of the highway   Theft Act 1968 S12(5) - Taking or riding a pedal cycle without consent etc  Road Traffic Act 1988 S168(b) - Rider of a cycle failing to give name and address Road Traffic Act 1988 S81 - Lighting and reflector offences   Road Traffic Act 1988 S163(3) - Failing to stop pedal cycle when required by constable   (2) The figures given in the table relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.  (3) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.  (4) The offences shown relate only to pedal cycles. Cyclists may be cautioned or proceeded against for road traffic offences that can apply to vehicles in general and for these offences, cyclists cannot be separately identified from users of other kinds of vehicles. The results for those offences are not shown here.  (5) For road traffic offences, cyclists may receive Fixed Penalty Notices. Those cases are not included in this table, so this table cannot be used as an estimate of all offences committed by cyclists  (6) City of London Local Justice Area abolished on 31 December 2011, and merged into Central London Local Justice Area. These data recorded under Metropolitan Police henceforth  Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services - Ministry of Justice. Ref: PQC HL 5762

Ministry of Defence

Military Aid

Baroness Browning: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will publish, for the last five years for which figures are available, the costs to the United Kingdom defence budget of deploying military resources for humanitarian aid and assistance outside the United Kingdom and outside conflict zones.

Lord Astor of Hever: Ministry of Defence (MOD) assets are deployed from time to time to provide humanitarian aid and assistance worldwide. However, these are not core MOD activities and, in line with HM Treasury policy, the net additional cost of these operations is charged to the appropriate Government Department.

Aircraft Carriers

Lord West of Spithead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many years the Head of Carrier Enabled Power Projection has spent serving on aircraft carriers.

Lord Astor of Hever: Carrier Enabled Power Projection (CEPP) is a joint programme, bringing together the Carriers, F-35B aircraft and Merlin Crowsnest helicopters. The Senior Responsible Owner (SRO) for CEPP is the Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff (Military Capability), who is directly accountable to the Permanent Under Secretary for Defence for the coherent delivery of the overall CEPP capability.The principal skill set required by the SRO is leadership and experience in delivering complex programmes across Defence. Specialist experience of carrier air operations is provided by the individual SROs for the Carrier and F35B projects (Royal Navy and Royal Air Force officers, respectively), both of whom have significant experience of carrier air operations.The CEPP SRO is also directly supported by a Programme Director (a Rear Admiral (aviator)), an Air Commodore, and a small joint staff with significant maritime and combat air experience.

Unidentified Flying Objects

Lord Black of Brentwood: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Astor of Hever on 10 March (HL5350), why the timescale for the transfer of the 18 unidentified flying object files from the Ministry of Defence to the National Archives has been delayed from the end of 2014, as previously announced, to late 2015 or early 2016.

Lord Astor of Hever: The schedule for the transfer of files from the Ministry of Defence to The National Archives consists of around 10,000 files per annum. The schedule is continually updated to take into account changes in priority and progress on different record sets. Additional processing requirements on the unidentified flying object files and focus on other Departmental records from the period 1982 - 1986 led to a change in the planned transfer date to late 2015 or early 2016. The Ministry of Defence will, however, continue to discuss with The National Archives if the 18 unidentified flying object files can be transferred earlier

Unidentified Flying Objects: Wales

Lord Black of Brentwood: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Provost and Security Services conducted an investigation into sightings of unidentified flying objects in West Wales during 1977.

Lord Astor of Hever: Any files relating to the West Wales sighting in 1977 will be held by the National Archives. Consequently, the Ministry of Defence holds no information on this incident.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Cats

Lord Black of Brentwood: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to help reduce the breeding of cats for sale in order to tackle the increasing numbers of unwanted cats and kittens.

Lord De Mauley: I consider that educating owners and prospective owners about responsible ownership is key to reducing the number of unwanted pets. The Government has worked with the Pet Advertising Advisory Group (PAAG - a collection of animal welfare veterinary and animal keeping interests) who have been lobbying operators of internet sites to adopt minimum standards for the advertising of pet animals. Last year, Defra endorsed PAAG’s set of minimum standards, which many internet advertising sites have agreed to adhere to. PAAG have been monitoring internet adverts and this has resulted in the removal of over 130,000 irresponsible adverts (some of which are adverts for cats). The Government welcomes the opportunity to work alongside interested parties to improve owners understanding of keeping pet animals.

Cats

Lord Black of Brentwood: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to promote the benefits of microchipping cats as a safe and permanent method of identification.

Lord De Mauley: The Government recommends identifying cats with a microchip and keeping the relevant records up to date. To do so will increase the chances of re-uniting a displaced cat with its owner and it receiving any necessary veterinary treatment, if it is injured. The statutory Code of Practice for the Welfare of Cats, made under the Animal Welfare Act 2006, contains advice about identifying cats, including by use of a microchip.

Cats

Lord Black of Brentwood: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what published research is available on the efficacy of the addition of bittering agents to antifreeze to deter cats from ingesting antifreeze.

Lord De Mauley: Whilst the Government is aware of US research that has been undertaken in this area, we are not in a position to say how robust it was and therefore whether the findings are relevant.

Dairy Farming

Lord Temple-Morris: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the effect of sanctions on the United Kingdom dairy industry in terms of the loss of exports and their value to the United Kingdom industry.

Lord De Mauley: Based on past export performance, the sanctions imposed by Russia on the United Kingdom affected an estimated 0.2 per cent of the UK’s total food, feed and drink exports which include £5.8 million worth of exports from our domestic cheese industry.   However, globally, our dairy exports are at record levels, topping £1.4 billion last year, a 51 per cent increase since 2009.

Department for Communities and Local Government

Travellers: Caravan Sites

Lord Avebury: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they are complying with the ruling of the High Court in the case of Moore and Coates [2015] EWHC 44 (Admin), which found that the practice of recovering all appeals relating to planning applications by Travellers in the Green Belt was declared unlawful.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The Government is considering their position in the light of the Judgment of Moore & Coates and will respond in due course.

Incinerators: Gloucestershire

Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether any representations have been made either by or to Stroud District Council on the subject of the contract for the procurement and building of the Javelin Park Incinerator at Haresfield, Gloucestershire.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The Department for Communities and Local Government has no record of any such representations being received by the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government during his consideration of the planning appeal.

HM Treasury

EU Budget: Contributions

Lord Stoddart of Swindon: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the United Kingdom's contribution to the European Union Budget and off-budget expenditure, including overseas aid administered by the European Union is subject to the Government and Resources Accounts Act 2000; and whether they have assessed the compliance of their contribution with that Act.

Lord Deighton: The United Kingdom’s contribution to the European Union budget is accounted for within the Consolidated Fund and disclosed in Notes 5 and 11 to the accounts. The Consolidated Fund is prepared by HM Treasury under the National Loans Act 1968. The Consolidated Fund accounts are publicly available on the gov.uk website. [1][1] https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmt-central-funds

Economic and Monetary Union

Lord Stoddart of Swindon: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the likely consequences for the United Kingdom of the decision of the European Central Bank to apply one trillion euros of quantitative easing to the Eurozone; and from what source the money will be financed.

Lord Deighton: The Treasury regularly monitors global economic developments, including those in the euro area, and their impact on the UK as part of the normal process of policy development.   It is not for the Government to comment on the appropriate monetary policy stance for the euro area.   Nonetheless, the Chancellor has made clear that the Government fully supports Mario Draghi’s efforts to ensure that the ECB does whatever it takes to meet its inflation mandate.

Department for Energy and Climate Change

Energy: Conservation

Lord Teverson: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to ensure that all remote areas and islands, such as the Isles of Scilly, can take the same advantage as urban areas of energy saving schemes such as the Energy Companies Obligation.

Baroness Verma: The Energy Company Obligation (ECO) is an obligation that the Government has placed on certain energy suppliers to reduce the UK’s energy consumption and support those living in fuel poverty by requiring those suppliers to provide households with energy efficiency improvements. It is designed for suppliers to meet their obligation in the most cost-effective way in order to limit the costs passed on to consumer energy bills within certain parameters.15% of a suppliers’ activity towards meeting its Community Saving Carbon obligation must be met in rural areas. We’re also making changes to the scheme’s Affordable Warmth obligation up to 2017 so that as much as 30% of the homes helped by energy suppliers under that group will be non-gas fuelled households.

Geothermal Power: Research

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 18 March (HL5377), what action they are taking to progress discussions with the government of Germany following their letter to that government last year; and how many meetings between United Kingdom and German officials have taken place on this subject since then.

Baroness Verma: DECC officials, working closely with Cornwall County Council, continue to engage with their German counterparts to explore research options for the potential testing of geothermal resources. The main exchanges have been through email correspondence and by telephone.

Northern Ireland Office

Welfare State: Northern Ireland

Lord Empey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what the financial implications for the Northern Ireland Executive will be if the Northern Ireland Assembly fails to pass the current Welfare Reform Bill.

Lord Empey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have advised the Northern Ireland Executive of a revised financial settlement for the financial year 2015–16 in the event that the current Welfare Reform Bill is not passed at the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Lord Empey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to proceed with the proposal to devolve corporation tax varying powers to the Northern Ireland Assembly if the current Welfare Reform Bill is not passed.

Lord Empey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the increased borrowing limits provided to the Northern Ireland Executive, as a result of agreements reached at the Stormont House Talks in December 2014, will be permitted by HM Treasury in the event that the current Welfare Reform Bill is not passed.

Lord Empey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government by how much the budget of the Northern Ireland Executive will be reduced for 2015–16 in the event of the Northern Ireland Assembly failing to pass the current Welfare Reform Bill.

Baroness Randerson: Changes to the welfare system in Northern Ireland were a key part of the Stormont House Agreement and without these changes it will be extremely difficult for the Executive to deliver a balanced budget. The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland has been clear that it remains vital that the Agreement is implemented in full.The Government is pressing ahead with implementing its obligations under the Agreement and the corporation tax legislation has now passed through this House. The legislation contains a commencement clause and commencement will not take place until the conditions set out in the Stormont House Agreement have been met and changes to the welfare system in Northern Ireland have been implemented.If the welfare reform legislation does not progress other aspects of the Agreement, including the financial package, are at risk. If the implementation of welfare reform does not take place during 2015-16 then the full £114million will be deducted from the Block Grant to reflect savings forgone.

Police Service of Northern Ireland

Lord Rogan: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the efficacy of the use of water cannons by the Police Service of Northern Ireland and of the arrangements under which they were deployed.

Baroness Randerson: The use of water cannons is an operational matter for the Police Service of Northern Ireland.

Department for Culture Media and Sport

Marks and Spencer

Lord Maginnis of Drumglass: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Garden of Frognal on 10 March (HL5444), whether the Equality and Human Rights Commission has intervened and reported back to them on the Marks and Spencer discrimination matter.

Baroness Garden of Frognal: The Equality and Human Rights commission is an independent body and is under no obligation to report back to government on specific cases. Any discussions between the EHRC and Marks and Spencer would be a matter to be dealt with between the parties.

Christianity: Equality

Lord Maginnis of Drumglass: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Garden of Frognal on 10 March (HL5444), whether the guidance found within the document she has cited, and which runs to more than 60,000 words, includes, or is intended to include, any effective measures relevant to protecting the rights and sensitivities of Christians: and if so, where in that document it might be found.

Baroness Garden of Frognal: The Equality and Human Rights Commission is very aware of concerns about freedom to hold and express religious beliefs and the guidance it produces does specifically cover these issues: for example in guidance about employment which can be found at http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/private-and-public-sector-guidance/employing-people/religion-or-belief-guidance-employers . The EHRC recently completed a public consultation on this subject, which was its largest ever, and following that will be issuing further guidance and a report on the adequacy of the laws protecting religion or belief, to be issued later this year.

Gender: Equality

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their response to the World Economic Forum survey of the global gender gap for 2014 in which the United Kingdom fell to 26th place, behind Rwanda and the Philippines.

Baroness Garden of Frognal: The UK’s ranking in the Global Gender Gap 2014 report is in part a reflection of rapid improvement from other countries. The UK also fares less well because of the measures used to inform the index; for example, economic participation and opportunity includes the difference in average yearly earnings of women and men, a measure that disadvantages the UK where many women choose to work part-time in order to balance family and work commitments. This measure also means the UK compares unfavourably to countries such as Rwanda and the Philippines where there are smaller differences in income between men and women but earnings are very much lower than in the UK.Under this government, there are more women in work than ever before, more women-led business than ever before, and the gender pay gap, measured by hourly earnings, is the lowest since records began.

Department of Health

Drugs: Licensing

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 5 March (HL5130), how practising physicians should satisfy themselves that any unlicensed medicinal product or toxic substance that they consider appropriate for their patients can be safely prescribed in the absence of safety data from phase 1 clinical trials; whether adequate monitoring of patients and expert supervision should ideally take place within the context of a clinical trial; and, if not, why not.

Earl Howe: Guidance to prescribers sets out a clear hierarchy for the licensing status of medicines which supports them in making decisions. In treating their patients, clinicians must first consider using a licensed medicine within its licensed indication, but if that will not meet their patient’s needs they can consider a licensed medicine outside its licensed indication and only if that is not suitable should they consider using a medicine that is not licensed. Unlicensed medicines are commonly used in some areas of medicine such as in paediatrics, psychiatry and palliative care.   Prescribers must discuss the options with the patient and explain the reasons for their choice including the significance of the licensing status of the medicine. Prescribing decisions need to be made in discussion with the patient concerned and prescribers need to be able to justify their actions, if challenged.   Ideally, all medicinal products should go through clinical trials process. When they do so it is a clear requirement of the process that adequate monitoring and supervision takes place. In the absence of clinical trials, and in the case of unlicensed medicines physicians should follow the guidance of the General Medical Council that patients are adequately monitored and that, where necessary, expert hospital supervision is available.   Prescribers are ultimately responsible for their own prescribing decisions. They should always satisfy themselves that the medicines or other substances they consider appropriate for the patients can be safely prescribed and that suitable arrangements are in place for monitoring, follow-up and review, taking account of the patients’ needs and any risks arising from the medicines.

Drugs: Licensing

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the remarks by Lord Wallace of Saltaire on 11 February (HL Deb, col 1243) and the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 5 March (HL5130), how the prior use in clinical practice within the United Kingdom of either medicinal products or medical devices that lack CE marking might affect the use of such materials in clinical practice within other European Union member states; and how the anticipated duty to promote economic growth would affect marketing authorisation.

Earl Howe: As stated previously, European medicines legislation contains a provision which enables member states to put in place arrangements for the use of an unlicensed medicinal product which is provided for by way of an exemption from the requirement for a marketing authorisation. Under the exemption, clinicians may decide to use an unlicensed medicine in cases where there is not a licensed medicine available to meet the clinical needs of an individual patient. We do not anticipate this to affect the use of such unlicensed medicines within other European Union Member States, as it is up to Member States if they implement this provision and how they do so. We do not consider that this affects levels of marketing authorisations and therefore harm the promotion of economic growth, as the provision is narrowly drawn and permitted only to meet the clinical needs of an individual patient under a prescriber’s responsibility. Medical devices without a CE marking could be used in the United Kingdom as part of a clinical investigation, following notification to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and having gained ethical approval from the National Research Ethics Service and subsequent authorisation by both organisations. Medical professionals are able to use non-CE marked devices or CE marked devices for purposes for which they are not assigned by the manufacturer entirely on their own responsibility. The MHRA has no regulatory authority regarding the use of non CE marked Medical devices in other European Union countries. In addition, we have recently launched an Accelerated Access Review which looks at how to promote the use of innovative medical products and devices within the National Health Service. The aim of this Review is to make the UK a world leader for the adoption of innovation in healthcare, so that we can become companies’ first choice within Europe.

Fertility: Drugs

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Public Health, Jane Ellison, on 25 February (HC224623) and the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 6 March (HL5131), how and why the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) was notified by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) that manufacturers were making non-CE-marked reagents available on 4 December 2013 and 23 November 2014 if the MHRA is not notified of individual instances as reported in HFEA inspection reports; and what are the alternative CE-marked products that the clinics in question had subsequently given a commitment to use.

Earl Howe: The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has advised that it has an information sharing agreement with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) so that the two organisations can better regulate the IVF sector. This can be found on the Authority’s website at:   http://www.hfea.gov.uk/docs/Joint_working_with_the_MHRA.pdf   The MHRA was notified of the information referred to by the noble Lord by email.   The HFEA has also advised that it does not hold records of what CE marked alternative products clinics have given a commitment to use.

In Vitro Fertilisation

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 26 January (HL4228), why multiple letters submitted to the Mitochondria Review Policy Team at the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) that are included as non-confidential written evidence submitted to the HFEA’s Expert Panel in 2011 were addressed to Ms Hannah Darby; in what capacity Ms Darby had been employed by either the HFEA or the Expert Panel; whether such evidence was received by Ms Darby on behalf of Authority members, the HFEA Executive or the HFEA’s Expert Panel; why Ms Darby had also personally written to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA); whether the information solicited from the MHRA was for the benefit of Authority members, the HFEA Executive or the HFEA’s Expert Panel; who was the Senior Policy Officer at the HFEA to whom Dr David Keefe had written on 24 March 2014; why the personal identity of that addressee had been redacted from non-confidential evidence submitted in 2014; and how the addressing of all such correspondence reflects how the Expert Panel has been independent of the HFEA.

Earl Howe: The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has advised that the individual in question provided secretarial support to the Expert Panel convened by the Authority during the preparation of each of its reports in 2011, 2013 and 2014. All of the activities referred to by the noble Lord were to support that activity and the provision of administrative support is both common for such reports and entirely proper.   Unnecessary personal data was redacted from the evidence submitted before publication by the Expert Panel. The terms of reference for the Panel are available on the HFEA website at:   http://www.hfea.gov.uk/6372.html

Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine

Lord Patten: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 25 February (HL4988), why they have not signed or ratified the Council of Europe's Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine; and whether they intend to do so.

Earl Howe: The Council of Europe Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine covers a very wide range of complex ethical and legal issues. These issues involve a large number of different policy areas which are covered by a mixture of United Kingdom legislation and common law and some of the relevant policy areas are within the competence of the devolved administrations.   In common with a number of other European Union states, the UK has not signed or ratified the Convention.

Chief Dental Officer

Lord Colwyn: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they expect to announce the appointment of a new Chief Dental Officer.

Earl Howe: NHS England is currently engaged in the process to appoint a new Chief Dental Officer and will make an announcement in due course.

Hospitals: Translation Services

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to reduce hospital translation costs.

Earl Howe: It is for National Health Service providers to decide how much funding they allocate towards the cost of providing translation costs for patients, their families and the public.

Health Services

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their policy in respect of smokers and obese people being given access to National Health Service treatments such as in vitro fertilisation, varicose vein and hair removal treatments.

Earl Howe: Blanket restrictions on procedures that do not take account of the individual healthcare needs of patients are unacceptable.   The commissioning of in vitro fertilisation, varicose vein and hair removal treatments, where clinically necessary, is a local matter.   Clinicians should take account of the latest available evidence and best practice guidance, if any, as well as the individual circumstances of each patient when considering the appropriateness of a treatment.

National Insurance

Lord Marlesford: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether a person must have a National Insurance number to register with a National Health Service medical practice.

Earl Howe: There is no legal requirement to provide identification when registering with a general practitioner practice for National Health Service primary medical services.

Diabetes: Vaccination

Lord Morris of Aberavon: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to encourage the NHS Clinical Commissioners to ensure that enough funding is available to allow research on a vaccine for Type 1 Diabetes.

Earl Howe: The Government’s Mandate to NHS England requires it: “to ensure that the new commissioning system promotes and supports participation by NHS organisations and NHS patients in research funded by both commercial and non-commercial organisations, most importantly to improve patient outcomes, but also to contribute to economic growth. This includes ensuring payment of treatment costs for NHS patients taking part in research funded by Government and Research Charity partner organisations.”   This objective includes research on vaccines for type 1 diabetes.

National Institute for Health and Care Excellence

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the extent to which the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence is promoting innovation in the provision of health and social care as required by the Health and Social Care Act 2012.

Earl Howe: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) plays an important role in promoting innovation in the health and care system through the development of authoritative, evidence-based guidance on the most effective and cost-effective ways to prevent and treat ill health, and through the dissemination of information on innovative new technologies. For example, in the development of its technology appraisal guidance and Highly Specialised Technologies guidance, NICE ensures that the benefits to patients from an innovative technology are fully captured in its decision-making. NICE also disseminates information on innovative new drugs and other technologies through tailored briefings for the health and care system.